


Aphra Wixoas I: The Start

by MaestasWD



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Female Character, Crime Fighting, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fiction, Fluff, Forensics, Lesbian Character, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-02-19 10:55:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaestasWD/pseuds/MaestasWD
Summary: When the body of a half-flayed man is found, Aphra Rosin comes to a horrifying realization: her brother's killer struck again.On her race to stop him once and for all, feelings will rise to the surface, relationships will form or crumble, and secrets will be revealed; including who Aphra really is.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Aphra Rosin couldn’t get much quiet these days. Work had been extremely busy lately; killings had spiked up in the city and police were running around like headless chickens trying to figure out what was going on. This spike left Aphra, a forensic scientist working for the Ironbridge City Police Department, with an increasing amount of evidence to bag, process and later file. Frankly, she was exhausted. Not so much physically, but mentally. It’s not very uplifting to have to go to several different crime scenes, sometimes on the same day, and see all the cruelty this world has to offer, see all the pain the killers leave behind, all the destruction. It’s mentally draining.

That’s why she couldn’t help but sigh in content as she lay on the couch in her apartment, gray throw blanket covering her lower half, mug with hot coffee in one hand, history book in the other.

Reading always brought a sense of calm in her. Something about being able to submerge yourself in a world that isn’t the one you live in was always her way of being able to disconnect from her life, even if only for a few hours. Ever since she was a child, her parents had instilled in her how important it was to read, to educate yourself through books and it stuck to this day. Reading about history was one of her favorite subjects to read about, always finding it fascinating how actions can change an entire society, vanish it or even create a new one. She would love to read about ancient civilizations, and marvel at how much technology and science has advanced since then.

Unfortunately, her quiet was interrupted by a loud bang coming from the entrance door of the apartment. She knew immediately what that meant:

“Dammit, Leo, do you have to almost break the door every time you come in!” she shouted from the living room as her roommate, Leo, took of his shoes in the hallway and made his way into the apartment.

He winced, apologetically “yeah, sorry about that, Tiny. I can’t seem to remember to be careful with it.”. He smiled as he saw her laying on the couch and started striding towards it.

She snorted but recovered quickly at Leo’s amused grin, “you know, you really should stop calling me that. I’m twenty-eight, not tiny anymore” she huffed out as Leo sat on the other end of the couch, careful to not spill the coffee in Aphra’s mug, pulling her feet up and propping them back on his lap.

“You could be a hundred years old, and you’ll still be like my baby sister, which means you will always be Tiny to me”, Leo said with a serious look on his face, letting her know with his expression that, even though it was said in a light tone, he meant every word.

She kept his stare for a few seconds longer, debating on whether to continue with her argument or dropping it. She eventually gave him a small closed-lip smile, cross one of her feet over the other and dropped her gaze back to her book, effectively ending the conversation regarding that subject.

They seemed to understand each other without needing to talk. They had met as teenagers, when Aphra was thirteen and Leo sixteen. Leo and Fredrik were in the same class in school and eventually bonded over the same love for rock music and video games. As time went on, Leo became confident enough to ask to stay in the Rosins’ house more often, given his own domestic situation wasn’t good. Aphra would always want to play with them, but Fredrik, being typical older brother, refused. Leo would be the one to try to talk him into letting her try the video games they would get after school or listen to the Led Zeppelin record he got from his parents’ house before going to the Rosins’ and showing it to Fredrik. Reluctantly, Fredrik would agree but they knew he secretly enjoyed her being with them just as much.

When they got older, life got in the way and they didn’t have nearly as much time to be able to hang out, but whenever they did, they would fall right back into old habits. When the boys went to college, Aphra missed having the two rowdy teenagers near, and found herself lonely often. The breaks would come, and as soon as they came back from Ironbridge National University, they would bolt to Fredrik’s old room and play video games with classic 70's rock on in the record player, and talk about everything and nothing until the early hours of the morning. The only things that would change with time would be their appearances, taste in clothes, and other trivial things like that, but their ritual would remain.

But they hadn’t done that in five years. They hadn’t played any kind of video games in five years. They hadn’t listened to classic 70's rock in five years. They hadn’t been that carefree in five years. Not since Fredrik died five years ago.

After finishing the chapter she was reading when Leo came into the apartment, she closed the book, sat up properly on the couch, dispensed of the coffee mug, opting to put it on the coffee table along with the book and turned her head to look at Leo once again, “So, tell me, how was work? You seem tired”.

Leo, who had seen Aphra emerge herself back into her book, had taken it upon himself to stay entertained knowing she would want to talk about their day once she was done. That’s why he was a bit startled from the news he was reading on his phone when Aphra talked again after the long silence.

“Gee, thanks Aphra, you look great, too”, he grumbled wanting to appear annoyed but failing to do so when Aphra smiled apologetically and he just smiled back, and because he knew she was right. He probably looked terrible. “I am tired, to be honest. Work has been kicking my butt, there’s these new contracts that we have to look over about a new project in the company and, man, there’s so much to check!”, he said with expressive hands flailing everywhere to emphasize his distress.

“Yeah, same here. Apparently, people think killing is fun, or something, because the amount of cases we’ve been working on is ridiculous. I swear I’m going to change careers if this keeps up”, she replied back. Leo grimaced in response, understanding the stress of Aphra’s job. She continued, “I wish we could go on a vacation. If we keep going at this rate, we’re going to have a full head of grey hairs by next week. Next week, Leo!”, she exclaimed with wide eyes, and hands on her face, appalled by the idea of that happening.

He laughed halfheartedly, “oh, don’t be dramatic, Aphra, we’re not going to get gray hairs by next week”, after a short pause he added, “next month, though…”, he finished as he stared off into the distance.

She proceeded to gasp, and lightly smack him on the shoulder, mindful of not using any actual force. After no more than a second of pretending she was shocked by his statement, they both started chuckling at their ridiculous notion and how silly it all sounded.

After composing themselves, Leo turned serious once again, but Aphra felt a shift in the air surrounding them. She knew this serious was ‘serious’ serious. And she had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, so she braced herself.

Leo, on his part, shifted his body a little to the side so he could be facing Aphra with one leg bent on the couch and the other with the foot still touching the ground. He started speaking softly, “So… it’s almost the day…” he finished as he took one of her hands with own.

She shuddered. She was right about what he wanted to talk about. Her mouth suddenly felt uncomfortably dry, “yeah, I know…”, she barely whispered.

“Are you going to go this year?”, he asked firmly, wanting to cut to the chase, but still cradling her hand with his own in an attempt to show her he just wanted to know.

Since this conversation started, she had been looking down at their joined hands the entire time. When he finished the question, she couldn’t help the shaky inhale of air she took and shutting her eyes, feeling the stinging in the back of her eyes. “I… I don’t know, Leo. I just… I… I can’t”, she replied at the same time exhaling just as shakily. She hung her head down even further, not wanting to see the disappointment in his other brother’s eyes.

When the hand that held her own extracted itself, she suddenly felt cold, but then she felt both of Leo’s hands on her face, gently pushing upwards, causing her to open her eyes and look into his. All she expected to see was disappointment, but what she saw was nothing but understanding. Understanding and warmth tainted with a little of sadness.

He spoke almost in a whisper, “I understand, Tiny”, he paused for a second when he saw a single tear escape Aphra’s brown eyes. He swept it away with his thumb and continued just as softly, “I will always understand, just please… think about it, okay?”, she nodded, “If you decided not to, then know that I love you, and that I will always understand, no matter what.”, he finished.

Before she got an opportunity to reply, she was engulfed in a bear hug, and she buried herself into his arms, not caring she was wetting his button up shirt with the tears that were now falling freely from her eyes.

“Th-Thank you, Leo. I... I love you, too”, she tried saying but having difficulties between her crying and the muffling from her face being against his chest. She knew he understood her when he felt his grip get just a tiny bit stronger.

It was always the same conversation when the date of Fredrik’s death approached. Leo had taking to visiting his grave every year on the day, and spending some time with his former best friend, talking to him and telling him all about the year in between the visits. And every year, Leo would ask Aphra if she would go with him. Every year she said no. Every year she would lock herself up in her room, and just cry. Cry for the loss of her beloved brother, cry out of frustration, cry because she couldn’t do anything about it.

She wanted to go; she really did. The problem was she just couldn’t. Her body would refuse to move at the thought of visiting his grave. Bile rose up; she would taste it in the back of her mouth. She started feeling lightheaded, her palms getting clammy. She just couldn’t do it.

After the crying would come the anger. Like clockwork, she would start to feel it building up in the pit of her stomach, engulfing her in an aura of sorts that was pure, red anger. When that would happen, she would go to the small balcony adjacent to her bedroom and take off into the night. Literally.

You see, she wasn’t a normal human. She was superhuman. She had superpowers: one of them being able to fly. So that’s what she would do.

She would fly up to the stratosphere, as fast as she could. Once at her destination, she would float up there, alternating between looking down at the world below her feet, squinting her eyes shut, taking deep breaths and just looking back down. That would be her way of trying to calm down, and, so far, it worked.

When Fredrik’s death was recent, she couldn’t control the anger as well. There was just too much of it. So, she tasked herself to find a way to release it. The best way was to go the Ironbridge City Junkyard, collect as many cars as she could (doing several trips back and forth if needed), and take them to an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of the city. Once there, she would start punching the hell out of those cars. She punched and screamed until she had no energy left, she punched and screamed until she started feeling somewhat tired; that’s as good as it would get, anyway. Unfortunately, that method grew old quick, there’s only so many cars in a junkyard, after all. So, she went to the one person that she would be able to talk to about this. The one person that would understand. Leo. Her other brother. The other person that felt the loss as much as her. Her adoptive parents grieved a great deal, too, but they weren’t near when it happened, with them living in a small town a couple of hours away from Ironbridge City, and all. She lived with Leo, she knew she could rely on him if she needed to, and that’s what she did. Slowly but surely, he helped her find another, not so aggressive, way to cope with that anger.

And it worked.

She kept repeating that mantra to herself. It works. It must work. She couldn’t go to the other person that meant the world to her. The one that she wanted to pour out all her feelings, thoughts and secrets to. The other person she wanted them to be the one to understand. She yearned for them to understand. She wanted that so badly with her.

Her.

Dana.


	2. Chapter 2

Aphra prided herself in being a good friend. She knew she was. The kind that would always be there when you needed someone to lean on, the kind that would give you advice when you asked for it or just needed an ear to vent to.

That’s why she always made sure to be the best friend Dana deserved. Dana. Just thinking about her brought a dopey grin to her face. Thinking about the way she smiles, the way she laughs at her dumb jokes, the way she always seems to want to be touched by her, whether it be an arm around her shoulder when they walk, a hug when they meet, or a squeeze of the hand when they talk about a delicate subject.

None of that made her think of a possibility of anything happening between her and Dana. She assumed Dana was just a touchy-feel-y person. But, although it made her brain conjure up scenarios where those touches meant more and her heart clench uncomfortably knowing it was just wishful thinking, she never once complained.

Truth be told, Aphra Rosin was deeply in love with her best friend, Dana Lankull. She was so in love with her it hurt. It was irrational the way her heart would skip a beat knowing she would see her later in the day whenever they agreed to meet up. It was irrational the way her hands would clench up into fists, fighting the urge to touch her in any way at any given moment. It was irrational the sense of pride she would get whenever she managed to make Dana smile her megawatt smile or laugh until she was out of breath. All of it, irrational. Yet, she didn’t have it in her to want it to be rational. In fact, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

That’s how she found herself on a Thursday night: irrationally happy, nervous and anxious all at the same time, as she heard Dana knocking on her door. She walked up to the entrance of the apartment, opened the door and when her eyes landed on Dana, she let out a barely noticeable gasp. It never ceased to amaze her just how utterly beautiful her best friend was.

“Hey Dana. I’m so happy you could make it tonight! _”,_ Aphra almost shouted out of excitement of finally getting to spend time with her friend and have one of their long overdue girls night.

“Hey you. I’m happy, too. Sorry I’m a bit late, I had to finish charting and it ended up taking longer than expected” _,_ she laughed as they embraced in a tight hug. Dana let out a contented sigh as she wrapped her arms around Aphra’s shoulders, feeling Aphra’s arms squeeze her around her waist in return.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, work has been crazy for all of us. Leo and I were talking yesterday about needing a vacation and you are definitely included in the list. _”,_ she replied. She heard Dana laugh in acknowledgement as she took her coat to hang on the coat hanger, and her shoes to place on the little shoe rack next to the door. Once done, she turned back around to face her friend and asked with a smile on her face “how about you go into the living room, make yourself comfortable and start looking for a movie while I order us some pizza?”.

Dana, with a smile just as brilliant, replied “sounds good to me. But just so you know, we are watching a rom-com tonight. None of that action crap you like so much. I have enough of seeing blood and injured people at the hospital _”,_ she replied as she settled on the couch and started scrolling through the options shown on the T.V. She decided on a cheesy Hallmark movie, pausing it to wait for Aphra to come back from the kitchen.

As if conjuring her up, Aphra appeared not a minute later with drinks in hand: watermelon flavored vodka with sprite for Dana, and a beer for her.

Once the drinks were put down on the coffee table in front of the couch, Aphra accommodated herself next to Dana, their shoulders and legs almost touching. She draped the throw blanket on them, covering their legs, when she turned to the T.V. and saw the movie option for the night. She groaned half-heartedly, “Seriously, D? Did it have to be a rom-com? Couldn’t it be an action one, with a romantic subplot? Most of them have the lead character save their love interest as the whole plot of the movie, anyway, what’s the big deal?” _._ She loved messing with Dana, knowing she would get defensive about loving cheesy romantic movies.

“ _I_ t’s a ‘big deal’ _”,_ she emphasized the words ‘big deal’ with quotation marks. She turned to face Aphra and continued, “because I’m tired of all the gore in it. Honestly no one would go through that much trouble for their partner. It’s not realistic” _._

Aphra stared at her. Her mind screamed _you have no idea the things I’d do for you. If anyone ever hurt you, I would gladly hunt them down, and made sure they paid for your pain. It’s realistic because I know I would do anything for you. In a heartbeat. I love you. I’m in love with you._ She would never jeopardize their friendship, she would never let her feelings be known, she would never say them out loud. The thought of Dana not reciprocating her feelings, or of Dana feeling awkward and uncomfortable around her because of hers made her almost want to cry. So that’s where those thoughts she just had, stayed: in her mind. And she’d make sure to keep it that way.

Realizing she had been staring at Dana for a second too long, she shook her head out of her own daze and cleared her throat, “yeah, it’s silly, really. I mean, who jumps from wagon to wagon while the train is still moving? You’re not going to save anyone, you’re just going to hurt yourself” _,_ she replied with a nervous chuckle.

If Dana noticed the nervous energy around Aphra after her comment, she didn’t show it. “Exactly, thank you very much! _”,_ she replied with a laughter of her own. “Okay, are you ready for me to hit play? _”,_ she asked Aphra, already turning back around to the T.V. with the remote control at hand, waiting for her friend to give her the go.

Aphra looked at Dana one last time, wishing she could just talk to her about her secret, wondering if things would be different, before turning to the T.V. herself and telling Dana to hit play.

Twenty minutes into the movie, the doorbell rang, signaling the pizza had arrived. Once Aphra came back from accepting the food from the young delivery driver, they both started eating whilst continuing the movie. Not much conversation was going on, only adding bits and pieces about how the movie was going or laughing at something ridiculous that happened. They both enjoyed being able to spend time in comfortable silence and not feeling the need to fill up the gap by talking.

When the movie was nearing its end, Aphra noticed Dana started to get sleepy. Her head was starting to fall a bit to side, almost reaching Aphra’s shoulder. “Hey, do you want to finish the movie another time? I know you’re probably exhausted from work _”,_ she said softly as to not startle Dana from her almost sleep.

“Don’t be silly, A. I’m sure there’s only five minutes left. The characters that were supposed to be together are together, see? It’s all good now, so that means the movie is probably about to finish _”,_ Dana replied stifling yawns all through her talking.

Aphra laughed, “you’re probably right _”._ And it turns out she was spot on. Five minutes later the ending credits were rolling. But, five minutes was all it took for Dana to fall asleep, head now resting on Aphra’s shoulder.

She knew Dana had off the next two days, that’s why they had decided to hang out tonight. She didn’t have the heart to wake her, knowing her best friend had been having a rough time at work. Deciding it’d be best for Dana to sleep in her place, she gently placed one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, effortlessly carrying Dana bridal style. On the way to her room, Dana burrowed herself deeper into Aphra’s arms, and nuzzled her nose onto her best friend’s neck. Aphra’s heart did summer saults and she felt an array of insects in her stomach, not just butterflies, when Dana finished accommodating herself better in her arms. She couldn’t help the image of carrying Dana the same way but the only difference being she would be clad in a white wedding dress, and they would be heading back to their hotel room for the night in a fit of giggles, after their wedding.

If someone would have told Aphra, a few years ago when she had just met Dana, that she would be having these sorts of fantasies or these feelings about her, Aphra would laugh at that person’s face. She would have told them that that sounds ridiculous. But here she was. With her ridiculous fantasies and feelings.

Aphra and Dana had met six years ago, one fateful day when Fredrik and her were roughhousing, and he accidentally broke her nose: him being the only one strong enough to cause any actual damage, and vice versa. He made it to Ironbridge City Hospital in record time. Once there, after having filled out the forms required, they waited for the ER nurse to call them in. That ER nurse being none other than one miss Dana. Well, she wasn’t a nurse yet, she was doing her clinicals. That day nothing happened other than her being assessed and taken care of by Dana and their conversation having to do with nothing else besides what had happened. But even then, Aphra couldn’t keep her eyes away from the gorgeous brunette. If it wasn’t for the pain she was feeling, she could’ve sworn it was impossible to not get lost in the woman’s forest green eyes.

They met for the second time 4 months after the incident; at Night Owl. Night Owl was a cute, quaint café near Ironbridge City Hospital. Aphra was called to a scene five minutes away. That morning she had overslept and, in an effort to make it to work on time, she decided to forgo breakfast and head out straight away. That’s how she found herself heading into the café and, in a moment of clumsiness and not watching where she was going, she ran into Dana.

**_Six years ago_ **

_“_ Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” _,_ Aphra exclaimed to the person she had run into. Obviously, that was going to happen on the day that she was late for work. Well, not late yet. Just, three minutes before being late. And she still hadn’t gotten the coffee. Great.

The person she bumped into chuckled, amused, “It’s quite alright, I’m the one that ran into you so, really, I should be the one apologizing _.”_

Throughout the whole ordeal, Aphra and this person had been busy picking up Aphra’s paperwork and such that had scattered around the floor as a result of the collision. At the sound of the other person’s voice, Aphra couldn’t help but think that it sounded familiar, so she looked up from the floor. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She was met with a sea of green, hair the color of dark chocolate and a shy smile on the other woman’s face. It was Dana. The nurse student that had tended to her when she broke her nose. Well, Fredrik did but that was beside the point and not relevant. What was relevant was she had bumped into Dana. And she was definitely late for work now. _Crap_.

“Dana? Dana from, uh, ICH? _”,_ Aphra questioned. She knew it was her, but still, she needed the confirmation.

Dana’s smile grew a bit bigger, “Yes, that’s me. I remember you; you came in with a broken nose, right? The man you were with seemed very distressed. Even more than you” _,_ she finished with a hearty laugh.

Aphra joined in her laughter, “yeah, that’s my brother for ya, Fredrik’s quite the drama king. I’m, uh... Aphra, by the way. Um, Aphra Rosin” _,_ Aphra said as she extended her hand, hoping the other woman would take it and not be put off with all her rambling and clumsiness.

Fortunately for her, Dana took her hand and shook enthusiastically, “Pleasure to meet you, miss Rosin. I’m Dana. Dana Lankull _”._ Dana was the epitome of composed. Clad in her student scrubs, stethoscope in one her pockets, pens and markers ain the other, she appeared calm and collected. A total contrast of Aphra who, with her button up shirt sticking out from her pants on one side and her hair up in a messy bun, was a mess.

“Pleasure’s all mine miss Lankull. Um… I should really head out, I’m late for work. Again, I’m really sorry for bumping into you. _”,_ she was about to turn back out when she paused, “Maybe we could meet again properly without any broken bones or high-speed body collisions? I think after all this trouble the least I can do is buy you a coffee sometime… _”_ she laughed a bit awkwardly, hoping she didn’t sound like a creep. Aphra thought to herself, _where the hell did that bout of courage come from?_

Dana studied her for a moment, almost assessing her or her intentions. She was trying to figure out why Aphra would want to have coffee with her. She had said it was a way to make up for all the “trouble”. Bu, still…

It seems she finally made her decision when she grabbed a little post-it note from one of her other pockets, and dribbled something on it, “here, this is my number. I’m off tomorrow so, if you want, you can call or text me then and we can figure out something _”,_ she finished with yet another shy smile on her face as she extended her arm out to Aphra.

Aphra took the post-it note from Dana’s hand and saw that she had, in fact, written her phone number on it.

”Oh, uh... great. Okay, I’ll, um... I’ll call you. Or, or text you. You know, whichever… _”,_ again with that awkward laugh. _Get a grip, Aphra,_ she berated herself mentally.

Dana laughed at Aphra’s awkwardness. Not because she was making fun of the poor girl, but because she was rather amused by it. And, honestly, found it cute. “Whichever sounds great, miss Rosin. Talk or see you soon. You know, whichever… _”._ With a playful smirk on her lips and a small wave of goodbye, she exited out of Night Owl.

Aphra, on her part, stood in the middle of the café, with the post-it note still clutched on her hand. “O...okay. Bye, miss Lankull. Have a, uh, have a good day! _”,_ she shouted to Dana’s retrieving form.

She looked down at the post-it note again, this time with a smile on her face. The smile soon vanished when she got a glimpse of the hour on her watch. “Shit! _”,_ she hissed. She didn’t have the time to wait in line and get a cup of coffee, even though her body screamed for it. She was oh so very late for work. So, with that in mind, she all but ran out of the café and to the address given to her by her boss. She looked at her watch one last time, in hopes of having misread the hour. Yep, she was very late for work. _Damn._

Aphra did text Dana the next day. Like the brunette woman had said on their previous encounter, she had the day off. They decided to meet up for coffee at none other than Night Owl around mid-afternoon.

This time there were no broken noses or run-ins involved. They spent a couple of hours there, time flying by. They talked about themselves, their work, general things of that liking. After those two hours, though, Aphra got called to a scene. She was on call for the next two weeks, so she didn’t have another choice but to go.

They exited the café that time with promises of meeting again soon, if their work, or college for Dana, permitted it. And they did. As time went by, they started hanging out more. First at the café, then at each other’s apartments. Dana met Aphra’s brother Fredrik and Leo, their best friend; they both took an instant liking to her. Aphra met Dana’s roommate, Zalinda. She wasn’t around much given she was a first-year resident at the same hospital Dana worked at but, from what she could tell, she was a nice girl.

With time they also started having deeper conversations. At times they would be talking till late at night about everything and anything they could think of. They talked about Aphra’s parents, Wyatt and Erica. They talked about how both Fredrik and her were adopted by the them when they were very young. Dana talked about her own parents; how her father died when she was a teenager, and about her rocky relationship with her mother.

Then Fredrik died. Dana was Aphra’s rock. She stayed over at Aphra and Leo’s place almost every night for the first two weeks. Holding a sobbing Aphra until she was dry. She cradled her on the couch after Aphra fell asleep from exhaustion. She cooked for both Aphra and Leo, hoping they would try to eat at least half of the amount she would put on their plates. After those two weeks, Aphra and Leo convinced Dana to go back to her place, promising her that they’d be okay.

It was at the point Aphra realized the depth of her feelings for Dana. At first, she thought it was nothing but a stupid crush. Dana was pretty, funny, and an all-around good person. _Who wouldn’t have a crush on her?_ Aphra thought to herself. But then, after Fredrik’s death and after she saw the way Dana took care of her, she realized. She was _in love_ with her. It wasn’t just some silly crush. No. She was full on, completely, madly _in love_ with Dana Lankull.

For years now, she had been in love with her very best friend.

And Dana…

Well, Dana Lankull was full on, completely and madly in love with _her_ best friend; Aphra Rosin.


	3. Chapter 3

Aphra woke up with a groan. Their couch was comfortable, sure, but it was not meant to be slept on. She stretched as best as she could while still laying down when she heard a soft laughter.

She opened one of her eyes and turned her head to see the source of the laughter.

Dana was leaning against the counter in the kitchen area attached to the living room with her back to Aphra, when she heard her friend stretch. She turned around with a smirk on her face and greeted her.

“Good morning, sleepyhead. How did you sleep? _”._ Aphra gifted Dana with a smile and another stretch. She missed the way Dana’s eyes traveled to where her shirt had ridden up and showed a sliver of skin.

“Morning. Apart from my back being a little stiff, I slept well. You? _”._ She walked to the kitchen, opened a cupboard and grabbed a mug, intent on getting her dose of caffeine.

“Good. You know, you could’ve slept in the bed, too. There’s plenty of space.” _._ Dana sipped from her own cup of coffee, watching Aphra move around the kitchen.

“I know. To be honest, I didn’t plan on sleeping on the couch. I was watching some T.V. and, before I knew it, I was gone. _”_ Aphra turned to look at Dana, leaning against the sink, in front of her friend. She thought to herself, _I wonder what it’d be like to be able to hold you at night, wrap my arms around you and tell you I love you. I’d be the big spoon. I’d want to be, anyway._

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dana calling her, “Aphra? Hello, anyone there? _”,_ she was waving her hand in front of Aphra’s face.

Aphra shook her head and cleared her throat, _“hey, sorry about that”._ She turned around to set her coffee mug down in the sink and then back to meet Dana’s eyes.

“ _Y_ ou okay, A? You seem a bit… off” _,_ Dana questioned her friend, wondering what was going on in her head. Aphra smiled at her before replying.

“I’m okay, D, promise. I was just zoning out. You know how I need the coffee to kick in order to function properly” _,_ she motioned to her body in general, hands moving up and down, and laughed. She truly was okay, but she couldn’t confess to her friend why she had really zoned out. _Hey, sorry about that. I zoned out because I was thinking about how good it would feel to sleep with you and be able to hold you in my arms. Also, I’m in love with you. Would you like to go on a date with me?_ Aphra cringed internally. That was definitely too much.

Dana noticed something in her friend’s eyes, a glint telling her that that wasn’t the whole truth. Nonetheless, she accepted it.

“Okay then, if you say so. Hey… _”._ Before she could continue, there was noise coming from the front door. They waited a few moments before hearing it close and footsteps making their way to the living room. They both turned their heads to meet the person that had just come in with smiles on their faces.

“Leo! _”,_ Aphra made her way to the tall man and engulfed him in a bear hug.

“Can’t… breathe…” _,_ Leo said trying to squirm away from Aphra’s arms. Sometimes she wouldn’t realize she was using a bit too much of her strength.

She winced and extracted herself, “sorry” _,_ she said putting her arms to her sides. Leo just grinned and put his arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay, tiny. I know I’m irresistible _”._ Aphra huffed in response and swatted his arm away. She started making her way back to the kitchen, Leo following behind her.

Dana had been watching their interaction with a smile on her face. Sometimes she wished she had grown up with a sibling. Leo started making his way to her, with his arms wide open. She thought to herself, _at least I found someone that cares about me like a big brother._

“Morning, Dana. Come on, you know you get a hug, too… _”,_ Dana hummed and pretended to think about it before making her way to Leo and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“Good morning, DiCaprio, it’s nice to see you, too” she extracted herself from his arms and smiled when she saw Aphra and Leo start to bicker like they always did. They truly were like brother and sister.

Aphra introduced Dana to the guys after inviting her to game night. She convinced her saying she was in dire need of a partner so they could play charades. Dana couldn’t deny her anything with those puppy dog eyes, so she accepted.

Their friendship was still new, but Aphra wanted her to meet her brothers. In the short time they knew each other, Dana had already become a person Aphra wanted in her life for an indefinite amount of time. Hopefully, their friendship would last years and years.

At first Dana was shy and quiet, not used to hanging out with people. But, as the night went on, she started loosening up more, started laughing louder at Fredrik and Leo’s dumb jokes, and started making her own in an effort to hear Aphra’s laugh more often. Both the guys noticed the way Aphra’s eyes would linger on her friend longer than normal but said nothing. They would talk with their baby sister after Dana left.

True to their word, they sat her down on the couch in between them and, after some interrogating, finally learned the truth. Aphra went on to confess that she had a crush on her friend, but that it wasn’t a big deal. That she would get over it. That it meant nothing. They knew that wasn’t true. Sensing Aphra getting tense, they decided to change the subject; they had heard enough to know that Aphra needed to figure out her feelings by herself first before talking to them.

Months went by and their game night became another ritual for them. This time, to Aphra’s delight, Dana was part of that ritual. They had game nights whenever they had a day to spare; all of them being in college or having jobs to pay the bills and rent.

Unfortunately, they weren’t able to enjoy their time for long. Just shy of one year after Dana was welcomed into their tight-knit group, Fredrik died. It shocked everyone when they heard the news. Fredrik was the guy who you would go to if you were having a bad day and wanted to forget about it. He would make sure to make you smile, laugh and have a good time until you forgot why you were upset in the first place or when you were ready to talk about it. He was there. And then he wasn’t.

Dana saw the pain in Aphra’s eyes. She felt it, too, but Aphra looked absolutely broken. It made Dana’s heart ache knowing she couldn’t do anything but comfort her best friend. She wished she could take all that pain away, she wished she could bring Fredrik back to life, somehow.

She tried to help as much as she could when she stayed in Aphra and Leo’s place for almost two weeks after Fredrik died. She would keep both Aphra and Leo company, comfort them when they needed it, she would cook or order takeout; if she didn’t, they wouldn’t have eaten at all. She knew she couldn’t take the hurt away, but she also knew that they would need support and she was more than willing to be it.

As time went on, things got easier. After those two weeks, Aphra and Leo assured her that they’d be okay, so she went back to her place. Her roommate, Zalinda, knew of the situation and was also there to talk with Dana if she needed someone to vent to. Dana had confided in Zalinda about her feelings for Aphra and knew that seeing Aphra this way was affecting Dana more than she cared to admit.

The brunette wasn’t sure when she fell in love with Aphra. She thinks in between all those girl nights, late night conversations, inner jokes, something in her heart changed. She had always found her friend attractive. Her blonde hair soft as silk, her brown eyes pools of chocolate she could drown herself in, her skin smooth. Aphra was someone Dana thought was very good looking. But, apart from the physical aspect, Aphra was warm. Welcoming. Something Dana wasn’t used to in her life. Having been an only child, she didn’t grow up with anyone around her age and her father died when she was 15 of a heart attack; her mother became distant afterwards. She had felt lonely through most of her life, so when Aphra came barreling into her life, it took her by surprise. She was very timid and quiet at first, unsure of how to act around others; she had focused too much on college, not making any lasting friendships along the way. She hoped it would be different with Aphra.

And, thanks to Aphra, Dana had made two more friends: Fredrik and Leo. They were more like older brothers to her. They treated her just like they would Aphra. Always meddling, always bickering about the most mundane things, but always there. She loved every second of it. She loved every second of Aphra being in her life. She loved Aphra.

“Honestly, it’s not that big of a deal, tiny. You’re acting like pineapple on pizza is a crime! _”,_ she heard Leo exclaim at Aphra, who looked at him like he had gone insane right in that moment.

“Because it is! If we start acting like that’s okay, then what? Are we going to start putting banana slices on it, too? Hey, while you’re at it, why don’t you just chop up some apple and throw it in there. _”,_ Aphra finished with an indignant huff.

Leo and Dana looked at each other after Aphra finished her rant and, after a moment of silence, burst out laughing.

“Woah, I had no idea you opposed so strongly to fruit on pizza, A. I’ll keep that in mind next time we order it.” _._ Dana was wiping a stray tear coming out from laughing so hard at her best friend’s outburst. Aphra didn’t seem to appreciate being laughed at. She glared back at Dana.

“Oh yeah? You make fun of my pizza preferences again, and next time we order it, guess what? I’ll ask for extra mushrooms”. She dared her friend with a grin on her face, knowing how much Dana hated them.

Dana gasped at the threat, “you wouldn’t _”,_ she replied wide-eyed. She knew Aphra was only joking and that she wasn’t really mad, but just the idea of mushrooms brought a distaste to her mouth.

“Try me _.”_ Aphra finished as she crossed her arms and raised a brow in defiance. They stared at each other for a few more moments, daring the other to continue the make-believe argument. Dana’s eyes turned glassy for a fraction of a second after the action. Aphra thought maybe she imagined it given it was so short-lived.

“Fine. You win. No more making fun of pizza preferences. _”,_ Dana sighed in defeat throwing her hands up in surrender. She heard Leo laugh and turned to Aphra to talk about something related to their apartment. She wasn’t paying attention, though, her mind deciding now was a great time to think about how Aphra looked when she crossed her arms before. Such a simple action. She literally just crossed her arms. But the way she looked while she did it. So in control. And that damn sculpted eyebrow. _Stop, Dana. Get your shit together._ Her inner voice was right. She needed to get it together.

When she heard a lull in the roommates’ conversation, she directed her attention to Leo, “hey, Leo, how come you weren’t here last night? _”._ The smirk she received in return was enough for her to know the exact reason for his absence.

“If you must know, nurse Dana, I was on a date” _._ She laughed in response.

Aphra joined her before turning serious and asking Leo, “when are we going to meet this mysterious woman, Leo? I’m happy for you, I really am, but this wait is killing me! _”_

_“_ Seriously?”, he huffed, “does being dramatic run in the family, or… _?”_

“Hey, Fredrik was way worse than me, and you know it.” Aphra gave Leo a sad smile, her thoughts going to her brother. She felt a small, warm hand rub up and down her back softly. She turned her head to see it was Dana. She knew that the sadness she felt for her brother’s loss would never go away. Not really. But she also knew that, as long as the brunette was with her, she’d be okay.

Leo brought her back from her thoughts, “true. I promise, both of you will meet her soon. We just want to be sure first. Of us. I think it’s serious this time, guys. She might be it.” _,_ he finished with a dopey grin on his face. Whoever this woman was, he was smitten with her.

_“Okay, we’ll take your word for it.”,_ Dana said to him with a smile. She was happy he had found someone to share his life with. A companion. A partner.

She couldn’t help glancing back at Aphra, wondering if she would ever stop being in love with her. Unless her feelings suddenly evaporated into thin air, she doubted it. She had dated other people, sure. She had even been in a serious relationship with Jason, a fellow nurse student who she shared classes with, for almost a year. He worked at the General Medicine unit. He was sweet, attentive, charismatic and a great boyfriend. But unfortunately, to Dana, he wasn’t Aphra.

It always felt strange when they were invited to game night. She couldn’t help eyeing Aphra to see if she reacted anyway to hers and Jason’s PDA; she never did. She was certain her friend didn’t feel the same way.

Their relationship ended when Jason took a job in New York at a prestigious hospital. She didn’t want to leave her life in Ironbridge City, so they parted ways, not wanting to be in a long-distance relationship. It was an amicable break-up, and they kept contact every so often.

_I’m so screwed,_ Dana internally sighed. She resigned herself to the idea that she’d probably die alone, in love with someone who didn’t love her back. At least she had that person in her life. She has no idea what her life would be like without Aphra in it and, frankly, she didn’t want to know. Aphra was her best friend. That would have to be enough.

_It has to be enough,_ she thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Aphra woke up on Monday morning to a light yellow, orange and red glow. She loved the way sunrise looked. It was mornings that looked like that that made her want to fly up and look down at the city accompanied by clouds.

She walked to her balcony, propped her arms on the railing and let her mind think while looking at the sun come up.

She wondered if she’d ever use her powers for good. If she’d become a superhero. The idea had always been there; in the back of her mind. She was a powerful being. She could fly, become invisible for long periods of time, had super strength, impenetrable skin, she could breathe under water and, last but not least, she could move objects with her mind. In other words, or in a word; telekinesis.

She had all these powers, yet she didn’t use them. She wondered why she let her parents convince her to not use them. She wondered why she went so long without deciding for herself. She knew why; she was scared. Terrified.

After Fredrik died, the threat of death became real to her. Foolishly, she believed she was invincible. She believed that her and Fredrik were invincible. Oh, how wrong she’d been.

With a sigh and a final glance at the sunrise, she turned around and made her way to the bathroom. Once done with her shower, she dressed and then went to the kitchen. She could hear the soft snores coming from Leo’s room; he was still fast asleep. She glanced at the clock in their living room, and saw it was seven a.m. She knew her roommate would wake up in about twenty minutes, so she started making breakfast.

Just as predicted, Leo made his way into the kitchen after turning off his alarm at twenty-five past. “Mornin _’”,_ he said in a groggy voice.

“Good morning, sunshine. Breakfast’s almost done, so just sit _”,_ Aphra chirped, having had more time to wake up. Not to mention her cup of coffee already. That was a must.

“Thanks, tiny _.”_ Leo replied as he grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee. Once done, he went to sit on one of the bar stools.

They began to eat when Aphra set plates with toast, scrambled eggs and bacon down on the counter. Neither of the pair being morning people, they remained mostly in silence as they let their brains become less foggy from sleep; Leo scrolling through news on his phone, Aphra sending a good morning text to Dana with hers.

Once done with his plate, Leo went to wash it then excused himself to go get ready for the day.

“Well hello there, mister big shot lawyer _.”,_ Aphra said to Leo once he was done and was clad in a marine blue suit with a matching tie. He gave her a toothy grin in response.

He rummaged around the kitchen to grab a couple of granola bars before making his way to the door and out their apartment.

Before he had the chance to head out, Aphra called for him. She looked down at his tie, saw that it was crooked to one side and, with a slight furrowed brow she fixed it.

_“_ There. Now you look presentable _”,_ she grinned at him.

Leo looked down and saw that his tie was now in a perfect straight line. He laughed mockingly, “ _ha ha, yeah, whatever.”._ He went back to the kitchen to give Aphra a sound kiss on top of her head, “bye tiny, have a good day today and be safe. Love you!” he exclaimed while making his way back to the door.

Aphra grinned back at his retreating from, “bye, you dork. Be safe and love you too! _”_ she shouted back. Twenty minutes later, as she was rinsing her plate and cup, she got a text:

**_“_** Scene at the corner of 4th and Central; brick building, second floor, third door to the left. _”_

Aphra sighed, collected her things and headed out. She thought, _time to catch a bad guy._

When she arrived at the scene there already were cops, reporters, yellow line up and people going in and out of the building. The building itself was old, worn down and holding itself together by sheer will; or maybe the bricks it was made of were just that good. The glass from the windows were either shattered to bits, or not there. The main entrance door was wooden, and it had nails all around it, indicating it had once served the purpose of blocking entrance into the building; now it just lay on the pavement.

After showing her credentials to the police officer standing next to the yellow line, she made her to the entrance. When she walked in the first thing she noticed was the junk. All over the floor, in an almost even layer, was trash ranging from fast food cups, napkins and wraps to drug paraphernalia; all kinds of it. It was truly a mess. Aphra pondered if she’d need a hazmat suit. As she took her first step, she heard a crack. When she looked down, she saw a needle split in half, no safety cap on it. _Yeah, I’m gonna need a suit,_ she concluded. After changing into the suit, she went back into the building and started making her way up the stairs. They’d creak just from air being blown their way and Aphra thought, for a split second, that she’d actually fall down. Fortunately, she made it up without a scratch.

The second floor was very much like the first; floor full of trash, wallpaper tattered and torn from the wall. That’s when she noticed the second thing of the day; there was no smell. Sure, the building itself smelled bad, as you would expect in an unkept place. But what she meant was that she didn’t smell _death_. It had a distinctive smell. It could be hard to place sometimes, it’s not something that you just know and that it’ll always be the same. No, but it had similarities. Most often than not it smelt like rotten food. Be that eggs, fruit, or even a foul garlic odor. Very sharp; pungent.

So, to say Aphra was surprised when she stood in front of the door without a hint of that stench in the air was an understatement. The smell of death carried all around; she should’ve been able to smell from the first floor. _Odd_.

She opened the door and walked into an apartment. There was an open living room/kitchen area and a short hallway to the left with three doors: two to the right and one to the left.

She saw her co-workers already collecting evidence in the living room and the kitchen, also taking pictures. As she made her way down the hallway, she saw a detective talking to a uniformed cop, asking him questions; he was the one that had been to respond to the scene, being the closest to the area.

“Hey Aphra, how’s it going? _”._ Aphra saw Detective Edinson make her way towards her.

“Good morning, Detective Edinson. How are you _?”._ Aphra tried to be as professional as ever, knowing it would annoy her friend.

“Oh come on, cut the crap. You call me Gala. Detective Edinson is for criminals, strangers or macho men that think they’re better than me. I like to remind them who’s the detective and who’s not” _,_ Gala finished with a grin on her face.

Aphra laughed at her friend’s antics, “whatever your say, boss _.”._ They started making their way to the second door the to the right. Aphra took the chance to ask Gala to inform her of the situation.

Gala stopped in front of the closed door and took a moment to compose herself back into her role as detective. She got serious; a brooding look on her face.

“Look, I’ll be honest; it’s not pretty. I know you’ve seen your fair share of horrors before, so have I. But this one feels different, Aphra. I have this feeling in my gut; something bad is gonna happen if we don’t find who did this and fast. What they did… _”_ Gala had to take a moment to compose herself, it almost looked like she was about to get sick. After a few seconds, she continued, “just prepare yourself, okay? _”_

Aphra studied Gala for a moment. She noticed the way her friend had tensed at every word; almost as if she didn’t want to speak them. As if she didn’t want to waste precious oxygen putting into words what she’d seen.

Gala didn’t give Aphra the time to reply before she started turned the knob and opened the door for them.

At first glance, nothing caught Aphra’s attention. It was just another dirty room. But then, she saw the silhouette of a person sat on a chair facing the large windows from which you could see the city below.

She started making her way towards the body.

She was a powerful being. She had all these powers, and yet nothing could’ve prepared her for what she was about to see.

The body had been strapped to the chair by their wrists and ankles. There was nothing surprising about that. What was shocking was the state the body was in.

To put it simply: half of it was there, the other half wasn’t.

To put it not so simply: the half that was there, the right side, was flayed. Muscles and tendons exposed. Eye open wide. Internal organs still there. At least, the right-side ones. The half that wasn’t there, the left, was nothing but bone.

A body that seemed to be composed of two. A body that seemed to be glued by two completely different sides right down the middle.

The flayed side was bright red, the sun giving it a disturbing shine that almost made it look like it was fake. Make-up. Extremely well put make-up.

When Aphra realized what she was looking at, time seem to come to a complete standstill.

She couldn’t move. Suddenly it felt like the walls were closing in on her. She could feel her own erratic heartbeat ringing in her ears. Her palms were sweaty and sticking to the latex gloves she was wearing. Her legs started feeling wobbly. Her stomach started turning in on itself, a wave of nausea hitting her without warning.

She needed to get out of there. She needed to leave, compose herself and get to work. But she couldn’t. She was rooted to the ground, as if blocks of cement had been settled on her feet.

She heard muffled sounds coming from the people around her. Gala was saying something, probably what they knew of the victim so far. She could hear the clicks of the cameras the techs were using to take pictures of the room and the body. She could hear the sound of zip-lock bags being open to collect evidence. She could everything, and nothing, all at once.

Her mind was trying to make sense of what it was witnessing, but it seemed unable to.

_This can’t be happening again… No, no, no…._

“Aphra? Hey, Aphra, are you okay?” _,_ Gala gently put her hands on Aphra’s shoulders on turned her away from the body.

Aphra’s eyes stayed on it until her neck started straining. She finally looked at Gala after a moment and tried to regain some sort of control of her body. At least enough to reply to the detective.

“I’m-uh- I’m fine, detective Edinson _.”,_ her voice came out hoarse. Probably from her mouth becoming a desert when she saw the body. She cleared it, hoping it’d do the trick and make her voice sound surer than she felt. _“_ I’m okay, really. _”._ She looked at her friend with an urgency that conveyed the message loud and clear: _let it go. Please._

Gala sighed. She knew Aphra wasn’t okay, not really, but she also got the message. She’d drop it. For now. “If you need a minute, I can wait before we go through the details. _”_

Aphra gave her a small smile, not quite reaching her eyes. “ _I_ t’s okay, Gala. I can do it. Let’s do this _.”_

_“_ Okay, if you’re sure _.”_ The detective seemed hesitant still. When Aphra just nodded back at her, she took it as her sign to start, knowing that would be as good of a confirmation as any.

As the detective started relaying the information she had on the victim, Aphra’s mind couldn’t stop thinking about what all this meant. The implications that this had. _Why is this happening again? Why? Why now?_

All those questions were running around her mind and yet, she kept coming back to these four words. Four words that trumped all others. Four words that clouded her entire brain. Four words that would hunt her for the rest of her life. Four words she knew she’d never be able to get rid of.

_Fredrik. His killer. Again._

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you like this story. It's something I've been working on for a while now, and I have big things planned for it. Please leave a comment or kudos, and let me know what you think! :)


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